In an internal note on Wednesday, Amazon.com revealed plans to lay off several hundred employees in its streaming and studio operations, continuing a trend of massive job cuts that have unfolded over the past two years. The affected staff at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios in the Americas will be notified on Wednesday, with notifications for most other regions expected to be completed by the end of the week.
This move comes after Amazon slashed more than 27,000 jobs last year, part of a broader wave of tech layoffs in the United States following significant hiring during the pandemic. Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, explained to employees in a note that the company has identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing focus on content and product initiatives with the most impact.
Amazon has been investing aggressively in its media business, including an $8.5 billion deal for MGM and a substantial $465 million expenditure on the first season of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” on Prime Video in 2022. The company is also set to introduce ads on Prime Video and a more expensive ad-free subscription tier, aligning with strategies adopted by competitors Netflix and Walt Disney.
Following widespread job cuts in 2022 and 2023, many companies are now strategically targeting specific projects and divisions as they reallocate resources. Amazon recently trimmed some positions in its Alexa voice assistant division, and Microsoft made staff reductions in its LinkedIn professional network. Additionally, Amazon’s Twitch service is reportedly planning to lay off 500 employees, representing about 35% of its workforce.
Despite these workforce adjustments, Amazon’s shares, which experienced an over 80% surge last year, were up 1.5% in afternoon trading.
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